Prenuptial Agreements

Prenuptial agreements and postnuptial agreements both serve the same purpose – to protect the rights of each party entering into (or in) a domestic relationship should that relationship end down the road. Prior to entering into either a prenuptial agreement or a postnuptial agreement, you should make sure you are fully advised of the other party’s assets and liabilities. You should be crystal clear on what the prenuptial agreement means and how you might be affected down the road should you need to invoke the protection of that contract. Above all, you should make sure that the agreement you are about to sign is fair.

In the absence of a prenuptial agreement or a postnuptial agreement, upon the termination of a relationship, Arizona community property law will apply. Generally speaking, this means property or debt accumulated during the marriage will be divided equitably between the parties. If you wish not to follow Arizona community property law in the case of a relationship dissolution, you must contract differently — by way of a prenuptial agreement or a postnuptial agreement.

Prenuptial agreements and postnuptial agreements may not be be appropriate for all people.

These types of contracts, however, can provide peace of mind in certain cases. Those cases might include situations in which one of the parties has significantly more assets than the other, when one party expects to earn more income than the other party (down the road), or when one party has agreed to put the other party through school.

Prenuptial Agreements

Prenuptial agreements and postnuptial agreements both serve the same purpose – to protect the rights of each party entering into (or in) a domestic relationship should that relationship end down the road. Prior to entering into either a prenuptial agreement or a postnuptial agreement, you should make sure you are fully advised of the other party’s assets and liabilities. You should be crystal clear on what the prenuptial agreement means and how you might be affected down the road should you need to invoke the protection of that contract. Above all, you should make sure that the agreement you are about to sign is fair.

In the absence of a prenuptial agreement or a postnuptial agreement, upon the termination of a relationship, Arizona community property law will apply. Generally speaking, this means property or debt accumulated during the marriage will be divided equitably between the parties. If you wish not to follow Arizona community property law in the case of a relationship dissolution, you must contract differently — by way of a prenuptial agreement or a postnuptial agreement.

Prenuptial agreements and postnuptial agreements may not be be appropriate for all people.

These types of contracts, however, can provide peace of mind in certain cases. Those cases might include situations in which one of the parties has significantly more assets than the other, when one party expects to earn more income than the other party (down the road), or when one party has agreed to put the other party through school.